I am 15, 5ft.1 and weigh around 7.11st. I ride horses so my legs are toned and I walk a lot so I am fit but I still have belly fat - more so below my navel. This is all the time, not after eating certain things or after a certain amount of activity etc. I'm not bloated either. I'm happy with my weight and can't afford to lose any more and have previously tried sit-ups, core strengthening exercises, crunches etc but nothing has worked so I gave up. How do I fix this because It's frustrating knowing I'm not fat eventhough I have "belly pooch". I would like to tone my abs but I know I need to rid of the fat first. HELP please!

Unfortunately it is a myth that you can 'target' a specific area for fat. You can't.

Visceral fat (or "belly" fat) is the first fat to form, and the last fat (along with thighs) to be lost (for evolutionary reasons).

The only way to lose it without losing weight is through diet and exercise. No grains, no processed food, no junk food, no sugar. (Eat all the vegetables except white potatoes and eat all the fruit, lean meats, fish, eggs, nuts you like to keep your maintenance weight).

Thank you, although this is why I am confused, I'm a healthy weight and am quite fit. I can't afford to lose any more weight as I'm petit and as I said at a healthy weight. I already do squats and work my legs, glutes and core when riding. I walk a lot with usually 10000 steps a day and some days (like Friday) 25/30thousand. I am going to start doing resistance training and will definitley conside using dumbells too. Thank you for your response

(Original post by Court.louise)
Thank you, although this is why I am confused, I'm a healthy weight and am quite fit. I can't afford to lose any more weight as I'm petit and as I said at a healthy weight. I already do squats and work my legs, glutes and core when riding. I walk a lot with usually 10000 steps a day and some days (like Friday) 25/30thousand. I am going to start doing resistance training and will definitley conside using dumbells too. Thank you for your response

If you're already active and eating healthy you will eventually lose the visceral fat. It really clings to you as it clings to your organs, see. So it takes a long time to come loose and for your body to burn it.

Cut out sugar and any processed food and consider adding those two 'fat burner' exercises I mentioned to your regime. They have me sweating after just 5 minutes.

As long as you're doing resistance training and eating enough protein (lean beef, chicken, wild salmon) you won't lose weight. You'll use the visceral fat to burn for energy and then proteins in return will give you lean mass.

Other than that if you're a healthy weight I say don't worry about it too much. A little bit of pudge never hurt anyone, especially in winter! Good luck!

Haha thank you! Any other suggestions for protein that I could add into mainly a salad/fruit and sandwhich diet? I don't have the time to prepare my own food so I end up snacking on things like that and try to avoid eating meat/fish.

(Original post by Court.louise)
Haha thank you! Any other suggestions for protein that I could add into mainly a salad/fruit and sandwhich diet? I don't have the time to prepare my own food so I end up snacking on things like that and try to avoid eating meat/fish.

Eggs, tuna, mushrooms, nuts. All good proteins.

I go to the gym everyday and really push myself so my diet is quite limited I'm not the best person to ask for advice there , I just know what not to eat (grains, sugar, junk).

My breakfast for example when I get home (I go to the gym at 4AM and get home at 6AM) is bison (or waterbuffalo) steak with broccoli, carrots, spinach, 3 eggs with a side salad made with walnuts, red cabbage etc.

Red/purple coloured foods (fruits and vegetables) will probably help you to burn your "belly pooch". They contain something called (sorry if I misspell this) Anthesynes - and I have seen a study on rats or mice where they overfed the rats/mice until they were obese, then they seperated them into 2 groups and kept their diets indentical, except with 1 group they laced their food with these Anthesynes and that group actually returned to a normal weight whilst the other group stayed obese. They are currently trialling it on humans in Australia.
Other than that increase your calories (slightly) and do some form of cardio twice a week like a 15-20 minute run, in addition to some resistance training - they key elements to this working though are time and patience it takes a while.